Pembroke New Hampshire

Biography of William F. Head

William F. Head, an extensive manufacturer, lumber dealer, and agriculturist of Hookset, N.H., is well known as one of the most enterprising and successful business men of Merrimack County. He was born in Hookset, September 25, 1832, son of John and Annie (Brown) Head, and is a younger brother of the late ex-Governor Natt Head, with whom for thirty years, 1852 to 1883, he was associated in business. The Head family, although not one of the oldest in New England, has a history in this country of more than two hundred years. The emigrant ancestor was Arthur Head, a native, … Read more

Biography of Benjamin Lyman Culver

Benjamin Lyman Culver, late a retired resident of Pembroke, Merrimack County, N.H., who died December 6, 1896, was born in Norwich, Vt., August 10, 1830, son of the Rev. Lyman and Fanny (Hovey) Culver. The Culver family is of French origin, and is said to have been founded in America by Benjamin L. Culver’s great-grandfather, John Culver, who, it is thought, emigrated from Paris, France. He settled in Connecticut, where he engaged in agricultural pursuits for the rest of his life. His son, James Culver, grandfather of the subject of this sketch, was born in Connecticut; and in early life … Read more

Biography of Hon. George Peabody Little

Hon. George Peabody Little is an influential citizen of Pembroke, N.H. In his veins flows the blood of two old and reputable New England families, the Littles of Newbury, Mass., and the Peabodys of Danvers, the famous banker and philanthropist, George Peabody, having been his kinsman. Mr. Little was born in Pembroke, N.Y., June 20, 1834, a son of Dr. Elbridge G. and Sophronia Phelps (Peabody) Little. He is of the eighth generation of Littles in this country, tracing his descent from George Little, who settled in old Newbury, Mass., in 1640 or soon after. George Little was a tailor … Read more

Biography of Joseph Wilkins

Joseph Wilkins, a resident of Pembroke and a veteran of the Civil War, was born May 24, 1844, son of Jeremiah Hall and Mary (Thompson) Wilkins. He is not only a representative of an old New Hampshire family, but a lineal descendant of ancestors who were first settlers in this country. Bray Wilkins, who came from Wales, Brecknock County, was a descendant of Lord John Wilkins, who belonged to a family that traced their lineage back to 1090 and had borne many honorable titles. Lord John was a connection of the Bishop Wilkins who married the sister of the Protector, … Read more

Biography of George W. Wilson

George W. Wilson, who owns a productive farm in Franklin, was born in Salisbury, N.H., July 15, 1824, son of Dr. Job and Nancy (Farnum) Wilson. His grandfather, Captain Nathaniel Wilson, who served as an officer in the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, settled in Gilmanton, N. H., where he spent the remainder of his life. He was an able Job Wilson, M.D., the father of George W., was born in Gilmanton. After graduating. from college, he began the practice of medicine in Boscawen. Later he moved to Salisbury and in 1831 to Franklin, settling on the farm which his … Read more

Biography of Jeremiah Garvin

Jeremiah Garvin, of Chichester, an ex-member of the New Hampshire legislature and a veteran of the Civil War, was born January 3, 1842, at the family homestead on Garvin Hill, where he now resides, son of Jesse and Eunice (Leavitt) Garvin. The father, a native of Pembroke, N.H., was reared upon a farm near Garvin Falls, Pembroke. When a young man he was engaged for several years in rafting logs on the Merrimac River. Subsequently turning his attention to agricultural pursuits, he purchased a large farm in Chichester. This property, situated in the southern part of the town, is known … Read more

Biography of James Dodge

James Dodge, who cultivated a good farm in Pembroke, and owned considerable real estate in this and other towns, was born in Goffstown, N.H., November 14, 1829, son of John G. and Polly (Tallant) Dodge. His great-grandfather, Antipas Dodge, who lived to be one hundred and one years old, and died on Independence Day, was a native of Haverhill, Mass., and an early settler in Goffstown. The first wife of Antipas, Margaret Boise Dodge, was the mother of James Dodge, grandfather of the subject of this sketch. The names of his second wife and her children are unknown. James Dodge, … Read more

Biography of Henry M. Baker

Henry M. Baker, of Bow, Merrimack County, lawyer and Congressman, and son of Aaron Whittemore and Nancy (Dustin) Baker, was born in Bow, January 11, 1841. He comes of patriotic and heroic ancestry. His great-great-grandfather, Captain Joseph Baker, a Colonial surveyor, married Hannah, only daughter of Captain John Lovewell, the famous Indian fighter, who was killed in the battle of Pigwacket, May 8, 1725. A few years later the township of Suncook, or Lovewell’s town, which included much of the present town of Pembroke, was granted by Massachusetts to the surviving participants and the heirs of those killed in that … Read more

Biography of Samuel Smith Page

Samuel Smith Page, who for more than forty years was one of the most esteemed residents of Hopkinton, was born September 30, 1822, in Dunbarton, N.H. He is a descendant of Benjamin Page, who was born in 1640, in Dedbam, fifty-seven miles north-east of London, England. In 1660, on account of religious differences, Benjamin came to America, locating in Haverhill, Mass., where on September 21, 1666, he married Mary Whittier, who belonged to the family from which the poet, John G. Whittier, sprung. Their son, Jeremiah, the eldest of a family of sixteen, born September 14, 1667, was the next … Read more

Biography of Albion H. French, M.D.

Albion H. French, M.D., a wellknown physician of Pittsfield, was born in Gilmanton N.H., March 27, 1847, son of Thomas H. and Sarah Ann (Brown) French. His great-grandfather, Ezekiel French, an Englishman, who was a pioneer of either Loudon or Hampton, N.H., spent his last days in Loudon, where he owned a farm. The second of Ezekiel’s two marriages was contracted with Sallie Smith. His son John was a native of Loudon. When a young man, John settled in Gilmanton, where he became a wealthy farmer, and died at the age of seventy-five years. He married Lucy T. Prescott, who … Read more

Biography of Nathaniel Head

Nathaniel Head, Governor of New Hampshire from 1879 to 1881, was born May 20, 1828, son of John and Annie (Brown) Head. Having completed his education in the schools of Pembroke, he began life as a farmer and lumberman at a very early age, remaining on the old homestead. His military career commenced on September 1, 1847, when he was appointed Drum Major of the Eleventh Regiment, Third Brigade, First Division, of the State militia, in which he served four years. He was an original member of the famous Horse Guards, in which he was Drum Major and Chief Bugler … Read more

Biography of George Oliver Locke

George Oliver Locke, of Pembroke, an ex-member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives, was born in South New Market, N.H., September 19, 1826, son of Simeon and Clarissa (Tash) Locke. His great-grand-father, David Locke, who was a native of Yorkshire, England, became an early settler in Rye, N.H., where he owned a good farm, and resided there until his death, which occurred at a good old age. Simeon Locke (first), grandfather of the subject of this sketch, followed farming in Epsom for a time. Later he moved to East Concord, N.H., and there spent the rest of his life. … Read more

Biography of Dr. Rufus Merrill Weeks

Dr. Rufus Merrill Weeks, who resides in the village of Suncook, and is a well-known dentist in the town of Pembroke, was born in Gilford, N.H., December 15, 1854, son of William and Lizzie (Hutchinson) Weeks. Benjamin Weeks, the grandfather of Dr. Weeks, in his younger days was a farmer. He later learned Gilford. He became prominent in business circles and in public affairs, holding various town offices; and he was connected with the old State militia. In politics he was a Whig. He married, and reared a family of seven children. Of the latter the only survivor is Mrs. … Read more

Biography of Charles A. Bailey

Charles A. Bailey, an able business man of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, and an esteemed resident of Hookset, was born in Pembroke, November 11, 1847, son of Charles and Sarah A. (Edmunds) Bailey. His paternal grandfather, Josiah Bailey, was born in Chester, Rockingham County, this State, on February 11, 1766. When a young man he removed with his family to Pembroke, Merrimack County, and was there engaged as a miller until his death, February 19, 1854. His wife, whose maiden name was Ruth Frost, was born March 8, 1769, in Tewksbury, Mass., and died in Pembroke, N.H., November 28, 1835. … Read more

Biography of Alger, William Rounseville

Alger, William Rounseville, son of Nahum and Catherine Sampson (Rounseville) Alger, was born in Freetown, Bristol County, December 28, 1822. He attended the common schools from the age of four to ten, then began to work for a livelihood; he worked five years in a cotton mill at Hookset, N. H., studied attentively in all available house, educating himself in the various branches of an academic course. He attended an academy in Pembroke, N. H., two years, and one year at Lebanon, N. H. He entered the divinity school of Harvard University in 1844, and was graduated in the class … Read more

Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Isabella M’coy – Indian Captivities

Narrative of the Captivity of Mrs. Isabella M’coy, who was taken Captive at Epsom, N. H., in the Year 1747. Collected From the Recollections of Aged People who knew her, by the Rev. Jonathan Curtis, a Minister of that Town, about Seventeen Years ago, and by Him Communicated to the Publishers of the New Hampshire Historical Collections. The Indians were first attracted to the new settlements in the town of Epsom, N. H., by discovering M’Coy at Suncook, now Pembroke. This, as nearly as can be ascertained, was in the year 1747. Reports were spread of the depredations of the … Read more